On Thursday, April 30, Southwestern University welcomed its very first Divine Nine fraternity, Omega Psi Phi, to campus. This historic fraternity, commonly referred to as the “Ques,” “Que Dogs,” and “bruhz,” was first founded in 1911 at Howard University and has since begun chartering many chapters across the country. 

The first member of this chapter of Omega Psi Phi is Ethan Sledge ‘27, and he is a part of the line The Lone Racer: The SaGGa Begins. A probate is a term commonly used by historically Black Greek organizations, defined as the formal introductions of newly initiated members. The Megaphone had the opportunity to speak with Sledge about the process of forming this chapter. When asked about his thoughts on being the first and only to charter this chapter, he stated, “It was an amazing feeling to say the least. Bringing a black fraternity by myself to SU has helped me grow as a person in many ways throughout the process.”

Though Southwestern has many different Greek life organizations, only one other National Pan-Hellenic organization, Alpha Kappa Alpha, has had a presence on campus. Southwestern’s AKA chapter was created back in 2015. Now, more than ten years later, a second historically recognized Divine Nine organization has been introduced to the campus community. When asking Sledge about why he chose Omega Psi Phi, he told us, “I chose Omega Psi Phi because the fraternity’s motto, ‘Friendship is essential to the soul,’ is something that I hold dearly to values in my life I believe in; from sports, to everyday life in having a strong bond between others.”

This moment marks a legendary feat in Southwestern’s history, and The Megaphone congratulates Ethan Sledge on this huge accomplishment!